Greater Niagara Region
Frank Campbell
The Lake Ontario Counties Fall Derby ended on Labor Day and in the end, there were no real surprises. Jack MacDowall of Hancock won the $20,000 Grand Prize with a 30-pound, 13-ounce king salmon he caught fishing with Dave Burkhart of Westerlo and Nate Murteza of Oswego on the second day of the derby August 22. They were using an NK Frostbite Spoon.
First-place brown trout was an 18-pound trophy that Lisa Winch of North Tonawanda reeled in while fishing at the Niagara Bar, jigging with her husband Wade and using a gold spoon. There was a new steelhead division leader in the end. Chett Wearley of Atwater, Ohio caught a 16-pound silver bullet fishing out of Point Breeze using a Raspberry Carbon-14 Moonshine spoon on Sept. 2 fishing with Capt. Jake Huth of Lines Down Charters. For a complete leaderboard, check out loc.org.
Capt. Hank Condes of Bladerunner Sportfishing out of Wilson reports that fishing has been good, working the inside water from Wilson to 6 Mile for mature kings and browns. His focus depth has been from 40 to 80 feet of water, but other boats are catching fish out to 200 feet of water. The water was colder on Sunday after the northeast wind, so fish are more scattered now. When he concludes his charter season soon, he’s going to try jigging with his smaller boat to see if he can get some fish to go. Mostly, Condes has been running spoons, but other boats have been using flies and meat. Fish can be found throughout the water column depending on water temperatures. Fish can be found anywhere from 30 feet down (with sliders on the riggers) all the way to the bottom. Divers on No. 3 settings were out 80 to 130 on average and even as far as 180 clicks depending on the depth of water.
As for the Niagara River fishing action, bass fishing seems to be getting better each week as good numbers of smallmouth bass are being caught throughout the entire Lower Niagara according to Capt. Frank Campbell. The top presentations include shiners and crawfish fished off three-way swivels along with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastics on a drop shot rig. Look for fish to be most cooperative shallow during low-light timeframes and move deeper as the day progresses. Walleye action also continues to be good to very good for both good numbers and size the entire length of the river. Anglers are reporting fish from 20 to 40 feet of water. As in the past few weeks, worm harnesses are the best choice to catch fish, but some nice fish are also being taken on jigging spoons in 1 to 2-ounce sizes. The best areas to present jigging spoons are slower moving drifts or eddy areas as those spots allow for better feel of the bait with less of a bow in the line.
Wayne County Fishing Update
Chris Kenyon
Lake Ontario
Straight out from Sodus Bay troll between 200 to 300 fow. Flasher flies, meat, and UV spoons have been working on the staging kings. They are still on the bite!
Try down 60 to 110 fow. Carbon 14 has been popular.
Some steelhead are also being caught and a few browns.
Saturday’s northeast blow brought colder water which moved the fish around, however it has been a calm lake today.
Bays
Perch are being caught at the north end of Sodus Bay, between the islands and also next to the east side before the channel. Use minnows.
Largemouths are everywhere. Cast Senko worm rigs near weeds and along the shore. The Wacky style works. You can also cast out the old-fashioned spinner baits.
Port fishing has been slow. Use small grubs with spikes for perch and bluegills. Find the drop offs with your Hummingbird and work the humps. Some of the larger perch can be caught in deeper water next to the mounds.
It’s still early for a decent perch; however, they will return to the bay from the lake.
Just think…you’ll be on the ice in three months. Get your shanty ready. Time flies!
Erie Canal
The bluegills have been along the southern shore of Widewaters. You can use the trail or launch a boat or kayak at the county park.
Fish the northern section for largemouths and also cast out under the Port Gibson Bridge.
The Erie Canal is now open and will close on October 14th.
There is an excellent DEC site that lists all the boating launch areas in Wayne County: dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/boating/launch-sites/wayne-county
Bait for fishing is available on the south end of Sodus at Davenports and Bay Bridge Sport Shop.
On Port Bay, Jarvis Bait Farm is open on Brown Road. The signs are on East Port Bay Road at the junction of Brown Road.
Toadz Bait is near the end of West Port Bay. On 1298 Route 104 is Ontario Country Max and 625 E Main St. is Palmyra Country Max.
Orleans County
Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator Ron Bierstine:
After earlier heavy rains with high and stained trib flows, a nice stretch of rain and storm free weather has settled in. And the Labor Day weekend weather and fishing didn’t disappoint! Look for seasonal temps and mostly clear weather ahead for the week. Just a small blip for mid-week with the chance of some showers or passing thunderstorms . Winds are calm for now after just a bit of a NE blow for the begin part of the past weekend. Recs and the last of the season Charters are out there now targeting mostly staging Kings or offshore action for salmon and steelhead.
After a strong showing in the summer LOC Derby, the Orleans County waters didn’t give up any leaderboard Kings for the fall LOC Derby. But that good Oak steelhead bite continued with a good representation of big steelhead on the board including the top 16 lb fish. Capt. Jake H. of Lines Down Fishing piloted Jim H, Tom “Bones” H and Chett W. who caught the prize winner. They were fishing in 100 fow east of the Oak when the fish hit a carbon 14 spoon 55 ft down on a rigger. The fish put on an amazing display of power coming 4 ft out of the water on the first jump just 30 ft behind the boat. The family and friend fishing team knew it was a good one then! Later the team decided to fish Vicki’s spot where they boated another big steelie that made big fish of the day. Multiple rods went off when they went through the waypoint and they knew Vicki was smiling down on them.
The good staging mature salmon bite has been mostly around the 90 fow +/- mark lately. As winds move the temp profile around the fish can slide in or out and some trollers are targeting the more consistent action farther offshore. Capt. Rob W. of Legacy Charters says “there was a very good stager King bite leading up to this weekend Oak Orchard Big Boys Tourney. Sixty – 100 fow held lots of Kings but also some cohos. Cut bait and flashers, flasher/flies and some spoons were taking fish. Just outside the stager bite the steelhead fishing has been incredible from 100 – 300 fow. Then on Sunday some cold water rolled in and the good stager bite got a little scattered.”
For the Oak Orchard Big Boys Tourney of Sat and Sun Yankee Troller took top spot with 317.52 points, with Hideout 2nd at 303.88 and Legacy 3rd at 287.56. Stay tuned for the final leg of the KOTO results that was also held for the weekend.
Trib flows are all on the backside of the flooded flows of last week. Look for a few early running fish with rivermouth and pier head action for casters and small craft boaters coming on better and better as the nights cool and staging fish move closer.
Oswego County
• Signup To Receive Weekly Fishing Reports From Oswego County
Fishing remains great on the lake. While water levels on the river systems remain low, that hasn’t stopped the fishing.
Salmon River, Pulaski NY
• Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The cancelled whitewater release this past weekend kept water levels lower, which has helped spread the fish throughout the river instead of sucking them all into the upper stretches.
With the lower water and warmer temperatures, focus efforts on the fastest water, transition spots, and travel corridors.
Use fresh, brightly colored baits early to get the salmon’s attention. Once the sun comes up, switch to lighter baits later, and fish darker or more natural-colored baits.
Oswego River Report
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The levels on the Oswego have been raised for a week. This has drawn salmon and brown trout into the system. But, as is typical for these early runs, they head right to the dam.
Fishing the fast-water shoots has been most productive.
Those not looking to wade are having success casting deep-diving crankbaits, like Thundersticks, off the high and low walls. Down behind the YMCA, anglers are able to fish at night and are finding actively biting fish as well.
REMINDER! The brown trout limit on the river is 1. The limit is 3 fish in combination, but only one brown trout and one steelhead/rainbow may be included in that total of 3.
Please Consider the Following Year-Round Notice: There are mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) zones on the river. The Oswego Fire Department offers loaner life jackets at no charge through its “Loaner for Life” program. For more information contact the fire station at 35 E. Cayuga St. by calling 315-343-2161. Click here for the current water flow.
Lake Ontario
Click Here of the 10 day Forecast
The best fishing right now has been in front of the Salmon River in 60 to 100 feet of water. Flashers and flies and plugs have been the best options.
DW Captain plugs and LJ J-plugs have been good in a variety of glow patterns. Flashers with white blades have been best early, with chrome taking over when the sun gets high.
Cormorant Reporting
Courtesy of NYS Sea Grant
New York Sea Grant announces new survey tool to track birds’ populations and impact
In August, New York Sea Grant, a collaborative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York.
Read more about the project here
Request a Free Salmon River Fishing Map!
Designed to slip into your pocket, this map covers popular public and private fishing locations, as well as boat launches. The best news: it’s completely free!
Contact the Oswego County Tourism Department:
Free Oswego Fishing Guide
Click Here to Order a Free Guide
The 68-page guide includes a detailed overview of fishing opportunities on eastern Lake Ontario, Oneida Lake, the Oswego and Salmon rivers and a variety of other tributaries, as well as the more than 40,000 acres of public lands available for hunting.
Click Here to Order Free Information, or email tourism@oswegocountyny.gov